Mutation 64
by DisasterCode7
Summary: Raphael's known for making mistakes, but he went too far. After slitting the throat of an enemy, his life begins to take a turn for the worse. As he is about to meet his end, one of Bishops scientists saves his life, and everything changes. (A poll for this story is available on my story, thanks)
1. Ninja's Can Kill

Summary: Raphael's known for making mistakes, but he went too far. After slitting the throat of an enemy, his life begins to take a turn for the worse. As he is about to meet his end, one of Bishops scientists saves his life, and everything changes. Above his angst and drama, however,

a sinister plan emerges and all Raphael has ever known is at stake.

Rated: T for strong language and strong concepts

Disclaimer's note: I do not own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; Mirage Studios holds the rightful ownership.

"We're ninja's for fuck's sake! I can kill whenever I wanna and whoever I wanna. You knuckleheads do know that the bad guys _do_ get up after gettin' their brains scrambled."I was pissed…really fucking pissed.

It had all started when I had rushed out of the layer because Leo was lecturing me about following and becoming a cog in the wheel of our family. He had no damn right. And I wasn't going to follow him, because everyone knows that he doesn't always make the best decisions. Yet he acts oh so perfect. Splinter obviously didn't see what I saw, and he started in about how I should respect my brother as leader. I laughed and said, "No offense sensei, but when Leo becomes a leader I'll respect, pigs'll be flyin." Leo and I got into a big fight and I left to blow off some steam.

There were purple dragons just an alley away from the manhole that leads upward. They picked the wrong day to be smuggling meth. I dropped in on their little party and knocked a few heads around without a problem, but there was this annoying dick with a chain. He kept on hitting my legs with it like he was an idiot or something, and it hurt like a son of a bitch. I went into rage mode and everything went black.

When I woke up, at least seven of the dragons were all stabbed up and bleeding. One was hanging on for life.

"Help…me." He pleaded. I recognized him. He was the mother fucker with the chain. I got mad again. All the anger inside—from Leo, Kasey turning into a pansy for his girl, Splinter forcing me to follow stupid Leo, and Don dating this girl online even though he knew it wasn't safe—it pushed me over the edge. I slit his throat. It felt good. I snapped back to the present to see Leo folding his arms and looking oh-so smug.

"Yes. We are ninjas. We have an oath to protect everyone, even Dragons, by not killing them." Leo was such a fucking hypocrite. If it was one of Bishop's men, he'd have sliced them up without any worrying.

"Raph, man, what's gotten into ya? I go over the edge sometimes, but I never slit any throats." Kasey was a fucking traitor. I told him everything that had happened, and I had hoped it would've made me feel better. It didn't. He told Splinter and Leo. Leo told Don and Mikey.

"You shut the fuck up, ya pussy. You're turning into a soft-headed freak for April. Don't get me wrong; she's a nice dame, but she's screwing you up." I clenched my hands into fists. Splinter had taken away my sai. Now all I had was my fists.

"Raph, I ain't turnin into nobody different! I told ya that a million times! You're just jealous 'cause I'm spendin more time with her than you." He folded his arms and put on that smug face I hated.

"No. I. Ain't." I could feel the anger begin to boil over. I could almost feel my fists pound his face.

"Dudes…" Mikey squeaked, "Why don't we talk this over some pizza." He lifted the box up into the air, hoping the mood would settle.

My shoulders dropped. I couldn't beat Kasey up. He was my best friend. I couldn't blame him. I did kill someone. "Shut up, Mikey." I growled.

Mikey gave me that kicked puppy-dog look, and there was something else. Something different about the way he looked at me. He looked at me with fear.

I couldn't look at him. I ran out of the lair as fast as I could, hoping that there weren't any dragons on the other side of that manhole.

So what do you guys think? Suggestions, comments, and constructive criticism are welcome! And I do appreciate reviews! Next chapter will be posted on March 22, 2012!


	2. The Project

Summary: Raphael's known for making mistakes, but he went too far. After slitting the throat of an enemy, his life begins to take a turn for the worse. As he is about to meet his end, one of Bishops scientists saves his life, and everything changes. Above his angst and drama, however,

a sinister plan emerges and all Raphael has ever known is at stake.

Rated: T for strong language and strong concepts

Disclaimer's note: I do not own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; Mirage Studios holds the rightful ownership.

Author's note: Oh my goodness, thank you so much for reviewing! I had never expected to get more than zero reviews for my first TMNT story! So a big, big thank you to ChelleNorlund and Kaaayyytteee (sorry if I misspelled that)! And instead of posting the next chapter on the 22nd, I've decided to go ahead and post it now. Enjoy!

I had started the project with a sense of adventure and hope. I left with a sense of confusion and betrayal. I thought we were researching an inexpensive and quick cure for malaria under a government grant, but truly, I was studying mutations in humanoid subjects. These humanoid subjects were mainly turtles; it had struck me as odd that I had only been dealing with turtles when the virus in question mainly affected mammals. They insisted, however, that picking apart the mutations in a humanoid turtle would unlock the key to a malaria vaccine.

I didn't question their authority, because I desperately wanted to make a change in the world. I wanted more than anything to help people on a larger scale and to save millions of lives. I was the only rookie on the team, and the only female on the undergraduate team. There was a tall, raven-haired beauty on the graduate team but she never looked my way. And with my curly blonde hair and chubby cheeks, no one seemed to take me seriously on the team.

They always saw me as cute little Kristine, not as a future scientist, so I was left out of important discussions and kept in the dark about our projects. I quickly learned how odd our project was when I began to break out in purple hives after handling a slimy green liquid in a biohazard chamber. The bumps scared me half to death, but I couldn't tell my supervisors. I was always horrible at putting hazmat suits on, and what if they decided to take me off of the team because of it? No. I couldn't let that happen. I had to save the world.

In the break room the next day, I saw the same purple bumps on the beauty's arm as she reached down to pick up a pen. In a daring act I almost never displayed, I crouched down next to her and showed her my own forearm.

"What are these?" I whispered. I didn't know why I was so afraid, but something deep inside of me was warning me of imminent danger. My childhood had taught me to listen to that thing deep inside of myself. I just knew, somehow, that these bumps would get me into huge trouble, and that I couldn't tell any of my supervisors.

She grabbed me arm and brought my ear close to her mouth in one fellow swoop. I squeaked.

"Meet me at this address," she said and hastily wrote something on the back of my hand, "and I will tell you everything." She pulled my lab coat over my bumps and secured it there, another sign to keep my mouth shut about the bumps.

I was terrified. What if I was contagious? What if I was infected with a virus the government was testing out for bio-warfare? What if I died? Luckily, for once, I was working with the computers and plotting our data from the turtle mutations. What did turtles, green goop, and purple dots have in common? There had to be a connection. I looked down at the address on the back of my hand and silently wondered how I was supposed to get there. I had no idea how to get around New York; I was from Fargo, for Pete's Sake! Maybe I could just wander around and hope to find it through sheer luck and get mugged, raped, and possibly killed in the process. Then again, I could possibly scare them off with my purple dots and tell them it's a contagious—

The wall interrupted my thought as I launched myself into its harsh embrace.

"Are you all right, Kristine?" Bishop asked. My back instantly straightened, and I quickly turned to see my supervisor.


	3. Nothing's Going Right

Summary: Raphael's known for making mistakes, but he went too far. After slitting the throat of an enemy, his life begins to take a turn for the worse. As he is about to meet his end, one of Bishops scientists saves his life, and everything changes. Above his angst and drama, however,

a sinister plan emerges and all Raphael has ever known is at stake.

Rated: T for strong language and strong concepts

Disclaimer's note: I do not own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; Mirage Studios holds the rightful ownership.

Author's note: Oh my gosh, I'm so happy that you all like where the story is heading! *bows* I hope that you all like this chapter! And a big, big, big, thank you to ChelleNorlund and Kaaayyytteee and BubblyShell22 and Huntress of Light! You guys are the best! I hope this chapter is good!

_Kristine_

"Yes, sir. I was just caught up thinking." That wasn't a lie.

"I see. Well, try to think more about walking." He walked away with a sneer. What was his problem? Was it because he thought I was a bumkin from the Midwest? If he did, I would show him how tough we bumkins can be! Or…or maybe he knew about the dots. The last thought terrified me.

Luckily, it was five o' clock, and I could get out of the lab, find some answers, and curl up with a nice cup of tea. I sighed at the simple pleasure of being comfortable. When I looked at my hand, however, all comfort was gone. The address was at least eight blocks in the opposite direction of my apartment, if I left quickly, they'd know something was up. I swallowed my discomfort and forced myself to work a little more on the graphs until Bishop told me it was time to leave.

He shooed me away and told me, "I have some actual scientific work to do, if you'll excuse me."

I felt like screaming at that bastard. _I HAVE BEEN DOING _ACTUAL _SCIENTIFIC WORK! EVERY DAY! IT'S YOU WHO'S JUST LYING AROUND DOING NOTHING! WITH FUCKING THEORETICAL HUMANOID TURTLES! _I felt like killing someone. I felt like killing Bishop. How dare he look down on me? I probably worked way harder to get into this project than he did, because someone made a rule that anyone with a vagina couldn't become successful.

I growled and stomped my foot on the ground. First theoretical humanoids, then purple bumps and the terror that followed them, and now Bishop looking down on me like I'm a school girl with a play-chemistry set?

"Can the day get any worse?" I whispered and looked down at my shoes as it began to rain. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!" I screamed.

"Woa, I didn't know they used that sort of language in North Dakota. You okay, bumkin?" The beauty seemed to come out of nowhere with an umbrella.

"Okay, we use the same exact language you 'SOPHISTICATED' New Yorkers do." My chest heaved with anger, and I knew my face was burning bright from embarrassment and anger.

"I was just kidding, it's okay." She laughed and put up her hands in a mock surrender. "I was just wondering how you were doing, and if you still wanted to find the truth." She motioned to my forearm.

I sighed. "I'm not feeling so hot. I'm afraid of what'll happen with…you know…and Bishop and the teams keep looking down on me." I felt exhausted, my stomach was sour, and I was drenched.

"Sorry about that, Fargo. Hey, are you gonna stand in the rain all evening or join me under this umbrella?" She moved over and made room for me beside her.

"Thank you. I'm sorry for swearing earlier." I sheepishly apologized.

"Fugedabodit, I swear all the fucking time." She flashed a pearly white smile.

"Oh cool!" I grinned and she began to laugh.

"Oh man, Fargo, you're too damn adorable for your own good."

I frowned. "I wish I wasn't. I think that's the reason why no one takes me seriously."

"No. They want you to keep your innocence. We're dealing with some fucking scary stuff. I think the teams want to protect the rookies. And with Bishop, he looks down on all of his student teams. He thinks he's an amazing scientist, and he's given baboons to work with." She gave me a little smile.

"That's a paradox. Me being innocent." My mind traveled back to a tougher time, when my spirit was rough and calloused, when the only person I could trust was myself. I had to rush myself back to the present and scold myself into the loving person I was before my parents started drinking.

She laughed. "Yeah, me too. I swear, spring break '09, crazy times."

I laughed with her, even though I never had enough time or money to be crazy.

"Okay, so my house should just be a few blocks further. This rain sucks hairy balls." She groaned. "Here's what you'll learn about New York, kid: the air is almost never clean, the rent is too damn high, and there's almost never a sunny day."

I nodded. "Oh, that's too bad. It's good that the project is paying for our apartments though!"

"Yeah, I guess so. But did you wonder why they did that?" She asked conspiratorily. "They've bugged the crap out of those apartments. Nothing you say in those things is private."

I looked down at the puddles on the street and shuddered. What had I gotten into? I just wanted to go back to Fargo where the puddles weren't as oily.

"But don't worry, Fargo, I'm living with my aunt right now in a completely safe place. She has too much money for her own good, and she bought an apartment to use over the weekend with her lovers. So don't mind all the sex stains and stuff."

I resisted the urge to vomit. We entered a simple apartment complex and entered the room farthest away from the road. "So are you just going to tell me something or show me a graph or…"

She flung the door open wide for me to see millions of pictures strewn on the carpet, bed, table and television. "These are all the documented cases of mutations in the United States of America." I noticed her tone had taken on a professional, scientific tone. I wish I could do that. "We have mutation number 64." She held up a picture of a little boy with purple spots covering his face. I felt sorry for the kid; I had acne when I was younger, and that wasn't fun at all.

"Poor little guy." I whispered and took the picture.

"Yeah, it's especially tough for kids. They usually die from melanoma."

I gasped. "Are we going to die?"

"Melanoma in adults with the mutation is rare. What happens to adults is strange, though." She picked up a picture on the desk and showed me a tall, angular purple monster with pointed joints and cheek bones.

"Oh no." I shuddered.

"There's others too." She showed me a picture of a man with a bright purple circle enclosing him. "Some of them are able to project the electric reactions in their systems and amplify their gravitational pull to create a sort of forcfield. However, when these forcefields are created, the subjects suffer from second and third degree burns. Their immune systems are overactive though, in both the children and adults, so death from infection is limited. The leading cause of death in adults is suicide."

"If I was a big purple monster, or if I was covered in nasty burns, I'd kill myself too." She nodded her head.

"There are other rarer cases, but these were the only ones I was able to steal from the project."

"What are all of these random ones on the floor then?"

"I had to go through all the possible mutations to narrow down our specific one." She smiled. "It helps to be a girl when you want something badly."

Her eyes drifted down to a note addressed to Zoe with hearts and sappy words. So her name was Zoe.

"So what does this have to do with humanoid turtles and the green ooze we were working with?" I asked.

"I was hoping you'd help me out." She shrugged.

I groaned and covered my eyes. "I was hoping for answers, but I only have more questions.

"What's going to happen to us?" I uncovered my eyes and looked at her hopefully.

"Well, all of the changes with mutation 64 are triggered by emotional stress, so we'll be good for a little while. And here's what will happen if we let that change take place." She lifted up a picture of the purple monster cut open with its organs draping over the table.

I gagged and ran to the bathroom. It was too much. I puked in her toilet and began to cry. Nothing was going right.

_Raphael_

_Nothin's going right. _I thought as I watched the sunset. It made the anger less noticeable. If anyone had asked me if I thought watching the sunset was cool, I would've told them that watching stupid things like that is for girls. I felt my mouth twitch into a smile. I was a hypocrite and a girl.

"Stupid." I whispered. Stupid Don, I didn't even talk to him that day. He knew just how I felt about him searching for love on the internet. I told him a million times, we're unlovable. No one could love a big green freak. Unless, you know, they were a freak too. But who would want a freak?

It was totally hypocritical and stupid to think, but I wanted a cute girl. My mind wandered to a time where I had saved a hooker from being raped by an asshole. She had thanked me and kissed me on my lips. It was amazing. She tasted like beer, and she didn't smell the best, but I liked it. I liked it because of the feeling it gave me. That entire day I was happy. That's how I knew I liked cute girls.

But then again, I would go for any girl that looked my way. I was so desperate. And maybe it would be best if I dated a freak. Freaks are meant for freaks, right?

I was shaken out of my desperate thoughts by Bishop's voice. "All right, you go left, and you go right. We'll find at least one." All my angry thoughts were pushed to the back of my mind, and I felt myself moving away from the ledge of the building. Bishop was looking for my family, I just knew it. I couldn't let him find them. As stupid as they were, they were my family, and nobody would hurt them if I could help it.

A crazy, stupid idea began to form in my mind. If I kept Bishop distracted long enough, maybe he'd lose track of the lair. I'd keep him and his team on the run until morning, and then I'd hide in an abandoned warehouse. It had seemed like a good idea at the time.

I looked over the edge of the flat and saw the back of Bishop's head. I took a deep breath and jumped as noisily as I could over his head and onto the roof of the next building.

"There! There! I saw one! Everyone, circle back to me! I just saw one!" Bishop yelled as if he had just been given an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii.

I smiled at the adrenaline that coursed through my veins; it had been a while since I had been chased. My mind flashed back to the time where Leo and I had been chased by the giant albino crocodile in the sewer. I shook my head. I had to keep my mind on only one thing. Staying away from Bishop and his bands of fucked up scientists.

"Shit, shit, shit, fuck, fuck, fuck, shell, shell, shell!" I cursed as a helicopter sneaked up in front of me, blocking my escape route to the industrial area. I turned, but only saw military men behind me. I gritted my teeth and ran left, into the residential area. They surely wouldn't bring a helicopter in that suburban hell hole. I realized how wrong I was as the helicopter started to shoot at me. I jumped off the building and onto the alley way, hopping to get some cover from the machine gun fire.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here, the mighty Raphael, all curled up and scared like a little bitch." I growled and turned to see the purple dragons wielding pipes, chains, and guns.

"Fuck!" I growled, "You pussies picked the wrong time to start a—" I was cut off by a gunshot. I felt an intense pain in my shoulder as I collapsed to the ground. "What the fuck was that?"

"That's just a taste a what we gonna do ta you tonite." The fat one laughed.

"Stop! You mustn't damage it! I need it in relatively good condition for the experiments!" Bishop yelled.

The dragons grumbled, but they stood down at the sight of Bishops miniature army. "Shell." I whispered. It was the end of the line.

I'm probably not going to be posting any more chapters for the next week, so I'm hoping that you all like this chapter! I will be back next Saturday, friends!


	4. First Meeting

Hey, everyone! Sorry for the absence there...it's been like what? A year? Two? Three? I can't remember. Even so, I haven't forgotten about this story. Here ye be! Enjoy! So, so sorry!

_please don't hate me 3_

* * *

><p><em>Kristine<em>

"Thanks, Zoe, if it's all right with you, I'm going to nod off to sleep now."

"Mmm-kay." She murmured and buried her head into the pillow. I smiled.

We had only gotten five minutes of sleep when the phone rang. "Mmm, fucking-a!" I groaned.

"Answer the goddamn phone." Zoe groaned angrily.

"Fine!" I retorted, so much for my crush. I picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hello, this is Bishop." I was instantly awakened. "I need you and Zoe down at the labs immediately. We've had a major breakthrough."

"Zoe, we need to get down to the labs. Bishop says it's urgent." I shook her.

"Tell him that it's one in the morning, and that this wasn't in my contract."

"She said—"

"I heard her." He retorted. "Just get down here Kristine."

"Oh, okay, Bishop. I'll be down there in ten." He hung up the phone, and I placed the phone back in its cradle. "Ugh…I hate you, Bishop." I looked over at Zoe, she was fast asleep. Hopefully they didn't need a pathologist, because Zoe was dead to the world.

I threw on my lab coat and shoes and jogged to the lab. Bishop told me to come immediately, so he'd just have to be fine with my pajamas. I was so excited. Did they find a cure? Did they find a new virus? Did they find a vaccine? The coolness of the night air and my excitement propelled me forward.

When I entered the lab, I could hear a thick Brooklyn accent cursing up a storm. I followed the voice, wondering what scientist on Earth would speak in such a fashion. I entered a green tiled room with a drain in the center and a surgical table placed diagonally with vertical orientation. The voice radiated from the surgical table, and I slowly turned the table to see what strange scientist was making the noises. I came face to face with one of the humanoid turtles Bishop had asked us to study.


	5. Dissection

Okay, so I'm back again! Here's a bit of a longer chapter, I hope you all like it! The exciting stuff'll be happening soon, I promise! :D And a big thanks to BubblyShell22 for welcoming me back after a year-long hiatus.

Enjoy!

I do not own the rights to Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles or any affiliates.

* * *

><p><em>Kristine<em>

"You're real?" I asked, feeling totally dumbfounded, and a little bit scared.

"Nah, I'm a faerie. What the fuck do you think I am, bitch?" He retorted. His breath smelled like pizza.

"Don't you dare call me a bitch!" I yelled right back at him.

"As you can see, our subject hasn't been cooperative." Bishop lazily said as he strolled in. He looked cocky and powerful. I had learned that a combination of cocky and powerful meant trouble. I stepped back to give him room to see the subject.

"So you just want me to let ya cut me open and gawk at my guts? You're a motherfucking crazy asshole if you think I'm going to let ya near me with a knife! How 'bout I come near you wit' a knife, ya gonna cooperate wit me den?" I gawked at his language. Suddenly, being called a bitch didn't seem so horrible.

"Bishop, we aren't going to cut him open, are we?" I asked, feeling more than a little squeamish. I saw the purple monster's organs hanging over the table. I saw my own organs hanging over the table.

"Why not cut him open? We can learn so many valuable things from this strange vessel. It's for the good of science."

The turtle laughed. "There ya go again, bein a science whore."

I couldn't hide a smile. I loved how he was putting Bishop in his place. Somebody needed to.

"Stop talking or I'll cut off your tongue." He growled. My smile disappeared.

"He's alive, and he's intelligent. He speaks our language." I whispered. I felt sick. I thought I would throw up.

I looked into his eyes; they were brown. His eyes were very human. I gasped when he winked at me and gave me a smirk.

"I doubt he's really that intelligent, Kristine." He laughed.

"Hey!" The turtle objected.

"Yeah, but still, he's human. I mean, he's not human on the outside, but I bet his spirit is human." _I doubt your sprit is human, though. _I added as an afterthought.

"Don't tell me you actually believe in spirits." He arched an eyebrow at me.

I met his gaze. I wanted to back down, like I had done with my father so many times. "I do believe in them." I whispered. I could feel tears peppering my eyes, and my stomach began to churn. I wish I was more powerful. I clenched my hands into fists, trying to remind myself that I had survived beatings.

"Well then, I'm obviously not putting you on the dissection team." My eyes widened. There was going to be a dissection, and if they'd dissect him, they might dissect me when the mutation took hold.

"Y-you're going to dissect him with a bullet wound?" I stammered. I was trying to buy the turtle _and me _time. I couldn't handle the reality that I, too, could be dissected. "It would compromise the finishing results."

He nodded. "I see your point, Kristine. Fix it in the next two hours, after that we commence with the dissection." He walked away from the turtle and me. "I need to round up the rest of the team, until then, make sure he stays here." He glared at me.

"Yes sir." I whispered as he left.

I brought the table laden with tools for the dissection next to the table and picked out the necessary instruments for fixing the wound and pushed the rest onto the ground. "I'm, uh, sorry if this hurts. I can't find any andesitic." I had never removed a bullet in practice before. I had read about it extensively enough to do it in theory, and I was in the pre-med program, but it is one thing to do in theory and another to do in practice.

"It's okay, lady. I'm a tough guy." I gulped.

I nodded, trying to get over the weirdness of the situation and lifted his arm above his head to decrease the bleeding. "So tough guy, how did you get shot?" I asked while I began to remove the bullet from his arm. He winced.

"I got into a fight wit some thugs." He said through clenched teeth.

"Almost got it, and yes!" I proclaimed as I took the bullet from the nest it had made in his arm. "Luckily, there doesn't seem to be too much of an infection. I'm going to cleanse the wound with some sterilized water. The wound was closed by the bullet, so it isn't too nasty in there. It'll still hurt though." He shrugged.

As I cleaned the wound, I tried to make conversation to keep his mind off of the pain. "So how did you get caught up with thugs? They're pretty dangerous, even for a tough guy." Now was as good of a time as ever to perfect my bedside manner.

"Nah, nobodies too dangerous for me." He said wincing. "And I gotta take care a 'em. If I don't, dey might end up hurtin' pretty ladies like you." I looked up at him, feeling a blush creep onto my cheeks. Why was I blushing? And why were we…flirting?

"Oh, that's rather kind of you. On behalf of all the beautiful women, I thank you." I laughed and he joined me, even though I was sure I had only made our awkward situation worse. "So, um, is saving women just a hobby of yours or something?"

"Yeah, I guess. I'm hopin' that one'a these days, I'll save a dame and she'll…" He trailed off. "Love you?" I finished for him.

"Yeah. It's stupid." He scowled.

'_Noted: subject seeks companionship with other humans.'_ A cold, sterile voice in my head stated, leaving me speechless and a bit afraid. When had I ever talked like that or subjugated other people for that matter?

A silence passed between us as I finished my handy work on his arm. "So there you go."

"Yeah. It won't help any. They're gonna open cut me open." He looked down. I felt so guilty. It could've been me on that table.

"I know how you feel." I instantly clamped my hands down on my mouth. Usually I didn't think out loud. Why was I talking to the turtle so freely?

"No offense, lady, but how would you know how dis feels?" He glared at me. I felt horrible. People probably wanted to cut him open since he was a kid.

"First off, my name isn't lady. It's Kristine. Secondly, you have no right, sir. You don't know my story or what I've been through, and you sure as hell don't know that a mutation is catalyzing beneath my skin." I showed him the purple dots. "If I get emotionally aggravated, I might turn into a "big, scary purple monster" that gets cut open and gawked at."

"Dat's fucked up…" He scowled. "You're a freak like me, but ya hang out wit da science nerds tryin to cut us open."

"I…I'm not a freak." I could feel the tears coming. "And I know. I'm really scared." My lips began to get all wobbly, and my words came out whiny.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt ya."

"It's fine." I whispered, looking at my shoes. "You're just angry, and I'm just…" I could feel a tear slide down my cheek. _Great. Great job defending yourself, you dumb bitch. He's right, you know. You're a freak! _

"Don't worry about it, listen, if ya let me go, I could help ya. Mutant to mutant, ya know?" He looked at me so hopefully.

"I…I don't know. If I did, I'd be in huge trouble. I'd lose my job, and they might even put me on that table." I wanted to let him go. I wanted to be the hero, but I couldn't. Too much was at stake.

"I have a family, ya know. A knuckle-head lil' bro who loves stupid geek stuff, a nerd of a kid bro whose lookin for a girl on the web, and my asshole bro who thinks he runs everyting. I got a dad too. He's probably worried."

"I'm not going to split up a family. I'm just not. You have to be there for them. Just…just promise me…" The tears were falling down my cheeks faster "that you'll love your family, and…and be a good big brother." I sobbed. _Fuck my empathy. He could be lying._

"I promise." He said, and I began to undo his straps. After I had finished unbuckling the leather shackles, he hesitated on the table.

"Just go." I whispered. I couldn't believe what I was doing.

"If you need anything, anything, just gimme a call on dis number." He grabbed a pen off the floor and wrote a number on the inside of my coat.

"Okay. I'll call." I clenched my fists. "Now get out of here."

"Thanks, Kristine." He still hesitated.

"Go! Before anyone sees you!" He nodded and jumped up the air vent and hopefully to the outside world.

After he had left, I heard the thudding boots of bishop and his men. "Whoever's up there…save my soul." I sent up a silent prayer, because I was about to meet my maker.


	6. Bleeding Ground

__Hey guys! So here's the next chapter, I hope it turns out okay! Also, I'll stop shuffling my feet and get to the real plot. Thank you all so much for your reviews! :D It really makes me happy and makes me want to upload a new chapter every day! :D Enjoy!

(I do not own the teenage mutant ninja turtles or their affiliates. I do, however, own Kristine.)

* * *

><p><em>Raphael<em>

"Damn it." I cursed as I heard Bishop's men enter the building. I paused at the opening of the air vent and _actually thought for once_ about my options. I silently gasped at the horror; I was acting like Leo. Good thing no one was watching. I could repay her act of kindness, but I'd probably get nabbed again without my sai. Then we'd be dissected side by side. But if I left her, I'd be betraying my street code. I groaned. The only way to solve the problem was to circle back to the lair.

I shook my head and growled. This girl was gonna give me a whole new set of problems. I needed to get back to the lair and grab my sai to defend the little brat, but how was I going to get past Splinter and Leo? If I told them the truth, they wouldn't let me take one step outside the lair.

_She's tough; she can handle it herself. And she can call. _I told myself, but my mind flashed back to the moment she began to cry after I called her a freak. She couldn't defend herself against a fly. A pang of guilt shot through my chest at the memory. I clenched my fist at my side, _what am I turning into?_ I asked myself. I was taking her act of goodwill for granted, and I'd killed a man just because I wanted to watch him die. My mind wandered back to the thug's last pitiful words. Was it right to kill him? I mean, he could've just been caught up in the streets, or maybe he didn't have anyone when he was growing up.

I was so caught up in my guilty thoughts that I tripped myself and fell on the pavement face first. I growled and slammed my fist against the ground.

"GOD DAMN IT!" I screamed and began to beat the pavement as if it could solve all my problems. Blood from my scratched face dripped onto the asphalt, and it looked as if the ground was bleeding from my fists. "I'M SORRY, OKAY?!" I screamed at the ground. I let out a scream of anger and pain, and the sky echoed my scream with a clap of thunder.

I paused and watched as the blood mixed with the rain and carried it away. As the blood was carried away by the rain, I felt like everything was being carried away with it. Kristine's problem, Leo acting like some sort of fearless leader and treating me like a loose cannon, Casey leaving me for April, Don being some sort of idiot, and all the guilt that followed the death of the thug was being carried away by the rain.

I rose to my knees and wiped the blood off my face; I didn't feel like myself. I'd been off ever since I'd sliced that motherfucker's neck. I needed to do what I did best: beat the shell outa bad guys, and defend the folks who can't fight worth a damn.

"Motherfuckers better watch dere backs." I muttered and ran towards the lair with a new sense of determination. I had found myself, even though I had never left. When I had turned 18, I had thought I was an adult. I thought I knew everything, and I assumed I'd never get lost. But adults get lost inside themselves more often than children. I wished I was still young, so I could find a way out of my shell.

_Kristine_

I wrung my hands together as the sound of their boots neared the lab. I began to panic. I looked for an exit, but the only plausible way out was the door that Bishop was nearing. My eyes watered as I stared at the air vent; did I make the right decision letting the turtle go? If he was strapped onto that table, almost all of my problems would've been solved. But…would it have been right to let him die?

I groaned, wondering why I had even shown up for work. I could've just stayed in bed like Zoe, or I could've just made her answer the phone. _Wait…Bishop called her home phone…How did he know her aunt's phone number? And how did he know Zoe and I were residing there for the night?_ Warning bells began to sound off in my head.

I looked down at the number he had written on my coat. Now would be a good time to call. It was hard to make out with the adrenaline pounding through my veins, and his sloppy writing, but I came to the conclusion that it said "Raphael 1-212-944-0400".

I typed in the numbers shakily as the footsteps came closer and closer. I brought the cell up to my ear and began to pray that he'd answer.

My prayers were cut short as Bishop threw open the door.

"And as we can see, here is the fourth humanoid turtle speci—" His sentence ended abruptly as he scanned the room.

"He escaped, and I couldn't catch him." I whispered. I wasn't exactly lying. He did escape, and I couldn't catch him even if I wanted to.

He gaped at me for a moment, as if I had just sprouted a second head.

"You what?" He marched toward me angrily, his nostrils flared and his fists clenched. He grabbed my shoulders and towered over me. I tried not to cry out in pain as his fingernails dug into my shoulders. "What did you do?"

"I-I turned around for a s-second…a-and h-he w-was gone!" I silently cursed my inability to tell a good lie.

"Don't you see what you've done?" He screamed. "If one of them is free, just one, they'll free the rest!"

"There are more of them?" I asked, feeling myself become sick. Raphael had talked about three brothers and a father. Were they going to kill his family, leaving him an orphan?

"Yes! You idiot!" He pushed me onto the ground, causing me to painfully land on a scalpel. My eyes watered as I felt my skin break.

"I-I'm not an idiot!" I managed to yell at him.

His eyes widened at my confrontational tone, and he was shocked into silence. My small victory, however, didn't go very far. He slapped me across the face and sent my head down onto the green tiles. The tiles seemed to approach me slowly, and I began to wonder why they were green. The green tiles didn't let me solve the question, however, as they hit me against the head and sent me into a pool of warm darkness.


End file.
